Navjot beat Imai 9-1 in a one-sided contest on a fruitful day for India. (Source: Twitter)
With Vinesh Phogat and Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik watching, Punjab wrestler Navjot Kaur knew that the women’s 65kg freestyle final against Japan’s Imai Miyu at the Asian Wrestling Championship in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, could be a life-changing moment for her.
While her semifinal win over Mongolia’s Enkhbayar Tsevegmed was a close affair, a 2-1 verdict, the final saw 27-year-old Navjot initially denying the Japanese points through leg attacks. She led 5-1 before the break, and when her counter move after Imai targeted her right leg resulted in a throwdown to set up a 9-1 win, the Railways wrestler made history by becoming the first Indian woman to clinch a gold medal at the Asian Championships.
“I didn’t want to make a mistake. Before the final, Vinesh told me ‘Didi you can do it and it will be a historic win for Indian wrestling’,” Navjot says. The key to her win, according to Navjot, was denying the Japanese points when she tried the leg attack. However, Navjot’s red letter day won’t take her to the Commonwealth Games. She lost to Pinki in the trials which she puts down to a recurring back injury.
A bronze medallist in the 69kg freestyle event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where Vinesh won the gold medal, Navjot suffered a career-threatening back injury in 2015. She stayed away from the national camp for two years before resuming training last year.
She lost in the second round at last year’s World Championships in Paris. Not winning a medal at international competitions had her worried. “The bronze medal in Glasgow helped me get a job in Railways, which meant I did not have to worry about financial security. But the injury in 2015 was a setback. Sometimes I would get frustrated. I also thought of quitting the sport. But then I realised that all the work I had put in would be wasted.”
This is not the first time Navjot has won a medal at the Asian championships. In 2013, she won the silver and in 2011 had bagged a bronze. “I am happy that it is third time lucky for me. My next target will be the Asian Games and Tokyo Olympics,” she says.
Growing up in village Bagrian near the border town of Tarn Taran in Punjab, Navjot started wrestling in 2004 on the insistence of her elder sister Navjeet Kaur, a national-level medallist. Navjot was initially reluctant, but soon showed keen interest in the sport after her sister had to quit because of a knee injury.
Navjot went on to win a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships in Turkey in 2009 followed by gold at the Asian Junior Championships in the Philippines the same year. Navjot made her senior debut in 2011 and won her first medal — a gold — at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships.
“My father put me into wrestling and Navjot would see me go for training. Later, our father asked her to join me but she was a bit reluctant. Sometimes she would miss training. But with time, she would be regular at practice. We used to get up at 4 am and cycle from our village to Tarn Taran. When I quit wrestling because of an injury, she told my father that she would continue wrestling,” Navjeet says.
Navjot’s decision to continue in the sport also helped the family financially, funding her younger brother’s education.
“She got Rs 6 lakh for the medals she won at the junior world championships and Commonwealth Games. She spent all the money on building four rooms in our home. When she got the job in railways, she would support the education of our younger brother Yuvraj.” the elder sister adds.
Father Sukhchain Singh, 65, has been taking loans for Navjot’s training, supplements and other expenses including travelling for trials. The family owns a four-acre farm and also has a dozen cows and buffaloes. “In our village, we say wheat is gold. But for me, this medal is the biggest gold,” a proud Sukhchain says.
Vinesh wins silver; Sakshi settles for bronze
PTI adds: Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik won a bronze in the 62kg freestyle category after getting the better of Kazakhstan’s Ayaulym Kassymova 10-7 in a tough fight.
On Thursday, India’s Vinesh Phogat had to be contend with a silver medal in the Asian Wrestling Championship after losing 2-3 to China’s a Chun Lei in the summit clash of the women’s 50kg freestyle event. Trailing 0-1 early in the bout, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Vinesh made a strong comeback to score two points and take the lead.
But with less than two minutes left, the Chinese wrestler scored two crucial points with an attacking move to regain the lead, which she defended till the end.
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